Amazon will offer apprenticeships in the UK due to a major shortage of workers with skills in science, tech, engineering and math (STEM) in the country. The announcement comes as the UK is preparing to pull out of the EU through Brexit, which could make it more challenging for UK companies to hire skilled workers from other parts of Europe.
Amazon will fill the program with new recruits and existing employees and is launching the program with 1,000 spots. “Creating new career pathways and working with industry partners, we want to open up new opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds.”
The announcement on Tuesday makes it clear Amazon is sticking with the UK even if the UK doesn’t stick with the EU. “We’ve been in Britain over 20 years, investing £9.3bn since 2010,” wrote Amazon UK Country Manager Doug Gurr. “It’s a great place to do business and we’re in for the long haul. In fact, we created 2,500 new permanent roles last year, taking our UK workforce to 27,500.”
However, Gurr wrote, “there’s a major STEM skills shortage in the UK.” He said that while jobs in science, tech, engineering, and math are expected to double in 10 years, there’s a shortfall of 173,000 skilled workers. “89% of businesses are struggling to recruit for STEM roles,” he said.
“Apprentices will work right across the UK in our corporate and operations sites, from fulfilment centres through to our corporate offices and research and development centres. With salaries starting from £9.50/£10.50 an hour in our entry level operations roles, £23,900 a year for our engineering apprentices and up to £30,000 a year for our software degree apprentices – you earn while you learn.
“We want to give people opportunities to succeed in the digital age, regardless of their start in life. It’s never too late to retrain as an apprentice, there are always opportunities to prepare for the future world of work.”
See the full post on the Amazon UK Blog.
